Plans in for UCLan vet school
The University of Central Lancashire wants to build a 45,000 sq ft facility on Victoria Street within its central Preston campus.
Advisor Cushman & Wakefield has now submitted plans to the city council on the university’s behalf.
If approved, the four-storey building will be the eleventh dedicated veterinary school in the UK, and the first of its kind in Lancashire, C&W said.
The School of Veterinary Medicine is slated for completion by September 2024, working from a hoped-for start date of March 2023.
Designed by Wilson Mason, the facility will include anatomical skills laboratories and simulated clinical facilities, including a pharmacy, diagnostic suite, operating theatres, teaching rooms and office space.
It will provide a hub for undergraduate and postgraduate course students and staff in veterinary medicine, bioveterinary science, veterinary clinical practice, veterinary physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and clinical animal behaviour and training.
Sarah Myers, senior planner in C&W’s planning, development & strategic advisory team, led the planning application.
She said: “The school will be integral to UCLan’s growth ambitions and demonstrates the university’s pledge to invest in the country’s future veterinary practitioners.”
Dr Heather Bacon, head of UCLan’s school of veterinary medicine, said: “The planning application takes us closer to achieving our ambition to create a technologically advanced veterinary school.
“The new school will play a major role in developing the veterinary practitioners and leaders of the future and supporting economic growth in the north.
“We’re incredibly excited to open the first Vet School in Lancashire, which will offer students state-of-the-art training facilities, and the highest of education and professional standards.”
Part of the proposed development work also includes the renovation of the Greenbank Building on Victoria Street, which will contain consultation rooms, a rehabilitation suite, kennels and additional veterinary teaching facilities.
